Mild Misunderstandings
by ToyInTheAttic
Summary: Someone named Taichi Yagami is looking for a new roommate, which works out on Yamato's behalf since he's moving out of his place. Upon moving in, Yamato develops feelings for his new roommate. The worst thing is, Tai doesn't even know he's gay. *AU Taito*
1. The Interview

Disclaimer: I own **nothing**, I make no money ... etc.

A/N: Yay for a new Taito! This story idea came out of the blue, and I thought that I'd try it for size. I'm so excited to start a brand new story, and I ask for you all to review. Especially if you find some sort of fault with this first chapter – you should let me know!

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter One: The Interview_

"Um ... I guess your resume looks pretty good."

"Yes ... "

"So these references – any of them old roommates or something?"

I pointed to the name _Takeru __Takashi. _"He's my roommate right now. But ... he's kind of my brother, so I don't know if you'd ... "

He nodded and skimmed through the others. "Who's this?" He tapped on the next name down.

"That's my boss."

"Hmm." He sighed and looked up at me. "Are you into any sports?

I shook my head slowly. "No, sir."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly disapproving, and I mentally kicked myself. He had posters of famous athletes and a jersey on the wall of the living room. Couldn't I have just lied and said I played a _little_?

"I mean, I used to play a bit of baseball when I was a kid."

His dark brown eyes were focused on my resume, and I could tell he wasn't paying attention to what I was saying at all.

There was silence in the room, and I took the opportunity to look around. The apartment was fucking _huge_, a lot bigger than the place I lived in at the time. The kitchen was big enough to put a large table in without any trouble. The living room was nicely sized, too, with a long couch and a small chair. I glanced down the hall at the bedroom doors and the small bathroom. It was definitely a place I'd enjoy living in.

"I love cooking, too," I decided to say, and it successfully caught his interest. "My dad taught me how to cook medium-rare stake, shake-and-bake chicken ... you name it."

"Really?"

I nodded.

He smiled to himself as he wrote something down in his notepad. "Oh, so you have a job?"

"Yeah. I work part-time at a bar downtown with a good friend of mine."

"So, you're nineteen?"

I shook my head. "I turn nineteen in December."

"Friends with the owner?"

I get that question a lot. The legal age in town was nineteen, but the owner of the bar, Kuro, was a really old friend of mine. We grew up on the same street together. Being seven years older than me, he played the role of my older brother for a while.

I nodded at Taichi.

"I'll bet the tips are good."

I laughed. "They are. I only work four shifts a week, but I have too much money to handle."

He nodded and wrote something else down. I was becoming a little too excited for my own good. The interview was going awesome, and there was something inside my mind telling me I was going to get it.

I was finally going to get a place to live.

"So, do you wanna see the bedroom?"

"Yeah, please."

He stood up and led the way. He opened the door and revealed the empty room. Dark blue was painted on the walls, old white carpet was laid on the floor, plus a small window was on only one wall.

But it was a _lot_ better than the room I had at the time.

"I hope you don't mind buying your own furniture."

"That's what I was expecting," I replied.

He smiled. "All right. The rent isn't too bad, I promise. But you might have to buy some groceries."

"Okay."

I was trying to be a polite as possible. Usually I'm pretty laid back – that's what my friends tell me, anyway – but I _really_ wanted this apartment.

"Then I think we're done. By the way, you don't have any medical conditions I should know about, do you?"

"Nope."

"Anything else?"

I pondered and sighed. "I'm a smoker ... "

"That's fine. You can stand on the balcony and smoke."

I was drawn back. "There's a balcony?"

"Yep."

The apartment was becoming more and more appealing to me. I wanted more than anything for him to choose me as his roommate. What wasn't there to like about me? I made good money, I could cook him food, and I could keep the place tidy.

"I'll give you a call, okay?" he said, opening the door for me.

"Yeah," I replied, offering a smile.

The interview, overall, was completely awesome. I was positive he'd give it to me.

But I guess what I should have told Taichi Yagami, though, was that I'm gay.

- - - - - - -

"How was it?"

I wordlessly threw my keys on the coffee table next to the door.

"Well?"

"C'mon, Mattie, tell us."

"Don't call me Mattie," I complained to Daisuke, who was lying on my couch with Takeru.

He shrugged.

Takeru, sitting on Daisuke's legs and skimming through the television with a remote, sighed with frustration. "Matt, just tell me how it went."

I nodded slowly, entering the kitchen. "Um ... fine, I guess."

"Who was it?" Dai asked.

"You wouldn't know him."

"Will you be moving out?" Takeru asked me with hope.

I ignored them and dug through the fridge. Takeru had been impatiently waiting for me to find a new place so Daisuke, his boyfriend, could move in. I wasn't too shaken up about it – the apartment was pretty shitty.

Dai groaned. "_Maaaaaatt_!"

"What?"

He didn't reply, but I knew what he wanted to know.

"The interview went fine. I really think he's gonna call me soon." I pulled out a frozen pizza and a bottle of soda.

"Really?" Takeru was facing me. "He didn't mind that you're gay or anything?"

"Uh ... no, not really, he just ... "

The blond threw his head back. "Fuck, Matt, you didn't even tell him?"

"Well, I ... "

Daisuke threw his hands in the air. "Are you serious? Matt, you're such a nervous wreck. I don't think you'll ever move out of here."

"Did you tell him about your job?" Takeru asked.

"Yeah."

"And about your cooking?"

"Uh-huh."

He smiled. "Then you'll probably get it. Honestly, though, when he calls you, you _have _to tell him."

"What happens if I don't?"

Takeru shook his head. "Don't even _think_ about it."

"Well, he might just forget about accepting me," I argued. "It was a sweet place, Takeru. He doesn't even care that I smoke or anything."

Daisuke nodded. "That's a good deal. Did you tell him you smoke joints and not cigarettes?"

"No, obviously not."

"That's not a big deal," Takeru said. "But not telling him you're gay _is_, you fucking moron."

I snorted. "Don't swear at me, Takeru."

"Yeah, TK," Daisuke added playfully, and Takeru smiled at him. Then Dai turned to me. "We're going to a movie tonight, so you've got the place by yourself."

"All right. I'll probably have Mimi over or something."

"Riku called," Takeru said, and I completely froze.

I felt my stomach drop after a few seconds. "What? W ... what did he want?"

"Said to tell you to call him back."

I laughed to myself. "Well he can take his words and shove it straight up his ass. I am _not _gonna call him back, and I never will. He can wait all fucking day around his phone, for all I care."

"Yeah ... right."

I turned sharply and faced Daisuke. "What do you mean?"

"Admit it, Mattie, you're flattered."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes," Takeru said, his eyes on the television, "you are."

Ignoring the two, I picked up the kitchen phone and dialled a familiar number. The couple immediately looked at me with knowing looks, and I glared at them angrily.

"I'm calling Mimi," I told them, and they groaned and returned to the TV, suddenly uninterested.

- - - - - - -

The downtown area was always empty on Tuesdays. I was sitting on a bench beside some skateboarding store when Mimi came walking down the sidewalk. She spotted me and waved enthusiastically.

"How'd it go?" she asked, stealing my ice cream cone and taking a bite.

I snatched it back from her. "How'd what go?"

"The apartment thing," she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh." I sighed. "That. It went okay, I guess."

"What was the name again?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Taichi. Taichi Yagami."

She eyed me, surprised. "A male, by any chance?"

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean anything romantic's going on. Besides, he doesn't even know I'm gay."

Mimi's face quickly switched from surprised to angry. "What?!"

"What?"

"Yamato, you didn't tell him you're gay?"

"No, why would it matter?"

"Because!" she shrieked. "How do you think he'll feel once you're all moved in and suddenly he finds out? It's better he knows now. What if he's gay, too?"

I snorted. "Mimi, he's not gay. I could tell."

"It's like having a boy and a girl living together without them dating. It's weird, don't you think?"

"No ... "

She shrugged. "Whatever. Don't blame me when you get kicked out."

"He won't kick me out."

I wanted to change the subject. Mimi would probably lecture me for hours, so I decided to say, "Guess who called me?"

"What? Who?"

I hesitated. "Riku."

Her jaw dropped. "What did _he_ want?"

"I don't know. Takeru took a message for me. It makes me fucking mad, since I know what he's gonna say."

"I wonder when he'll give it up."

I rolled my eyes. "Probably never. I'm sorry, Riku, but if you cheat on me and crawl back, I'm not going to take you back. What a dumbass."

"Well, your bitterness certainly hasn't gone down any."

"Why should it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, Yamato. It's been a year since then, and he seems ... "

"I'm not forgiving him."

"He might have changed."

"I doubt it. Mimi, we dated for two years, and during that time he slept with four people. _Four_! Do you know how insulting that is?"

She was eyeing the store across the street with a knowing look. "If I didn't know any better ... I'd say you still had feelings for him."

"I don't," I immediately replied, as if a reflex. "I still have feelings for the relationship we had."

"Listen, Matt, I think you need to move on. If you don't, I don't think you'll ever really get over him."

"I can't just date anyone. I don't believe in looking for relationships. I think the relationship should come to you."

She smirked. "It's people like you who keep people like me single for some weird reason."

- - - - - - -

Even though Takeru wasn't home, Daisuke was at the apartment, digging through our fridge. I just rolled my eyes at him when I walked through the door.

"God, you're like a stray cat."

He shrugged at me. "What?"

I didn't reply and dropped myself onto the couch.

"Rough day?"

Again, I didn't say anything.

"You know, Matt, I can see right through you sometimes," he said randomly, and I just looked at him. "Like, how I can tell you've probably been thinking about Riku for the past forty-eight hours. Face it, Mattie, you're not over him. Why don't you give him a call?"

" 'Cause I don't wanna."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, you do."

"He'll probably just ... convince me to ... "

As my voice trailed off, the telephone rang. Daisuke answered it, twisting the cord in his finger. I swear, it was like he already lived there.

"Oh? Yamato?" He looked at me. "Mattie, whoever's calling, it kind of sounds like Riku."

I panicked. "_What_?"

He shrugged as I jumped up from the couch, unsure of what to do. I grabbed the phone from him, breathing in deeply and, finally, answering the phone.

"Hey, Yamato."

_That_ didn't sound like Riku ...

"It's Taichi, from the apartment."

Weight was immediately lifted from my shoulders. "Oh! Taichi." I hit Daisuke's chest as hard as I could. "What's going on?"

"Uh, well, I'm just looking over your resume, and it pretty much matches what kind of roommate I'm looking for. You're still interested, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Cool."

Daisuke was looking at me expectedly, and I turned my back on him.

"So, when can you move your stuff in?"

I shrugged. "Whenever you want me to, I guess."

"All right. How about on Friday?"

"Sounds great."

"All right. And I noticed you were acting a little weird at the interview – you're sure there's nothing I should know about, right?"

"Anything you should know about?" I repeated absentmindedly. Daisuke glared at me, mouthing something I couldn't make out. Smiling, I covered his mouth with my hand and replied, "Nope. Nothing I can think of, anyway."


	2. The Roommate

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing, I make no money, etc.

A/N: I'm so sorry about my late update! I will spear you my excuses and move right along, so without further ado, here is chapter two. =)

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter Two: The Roommate_

I dropped a box on the kitchen table and wiped my forehead. I had no idea where all of my stuff was going to go; Taichi already had furniture for the living room.

Daisuke dropped his box on the floor. "Where's your roommate?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. He's probably working. He said to put my stuff anywhere."

Putting on a relieved expression, he sighed. "Good, 'cause I don't feel like arranging this shit in a particular order."

"Hey, you _asked_ me if I needed any help."

"And I didn't think you'd say yes!"

I rolled my eyes. Daisuke was always obnoxious like this, and I don't know how Takeru could stand it. To avoid getting into one of our usual arguments, I changed the subject by saying, "It's a nice place, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Better than your place, anyway."

He stuck his tongue out at me. "You're just jealous because I signed my lease this morning. Nine months with Takeru. Hey – that could be a show or something."

"What?"

He smiled. "Well, TK and me don't have the most functional relationship. It sounds like it could be funny."

I ignored him and ripped a box opened.

"It could be called _Nine Months With Takeru_ or something."

"Are you gonna help me or not?"

He shrugged and lifted the box from the floor. "Just trying to entertain myself."

At that moment, the door opened. Taichi strode in with some girl holding hands with him. I guess she was okay looking. She had long blond hair in braids and big green eyes. It was probably her outfit I was so taken back by. It just barely covered her up.

"Oh, Yamato," Taichi greeted with a smile. "What's up?"

"Uh, not much, I guess." I motioned to Daisuke. "This is Daisuke, my brother's ... roommate."

As soon as I said that, Dai nudged me.

Taichi nodded. "Nice to meet you, Daisuke. This is Emi, my girlfriend. She'll probably be around here quite a bit."

She gave us a small smile. "Hi."

As soon as the couple glanced away from us, I elbowed Daisuke in the stomach and mouthed for him to keep his mouth shut.

"So, Yamato," Emi said, eyeing around the living room. "Do you go to college?"

I shook my head. "Not right now. I've got a good job, though."

She made a weird face.

"Mattie here's a bartender!" Daisuke exclaimed. "Best one in town!"

I glared at him, but I was thankful he didn't reveal that I worked at the only gay bar in town.

His comment still seemed to have sparked Emi's attention. "A bartender? Don't you have to go through some training thing for that?"

"I did that when I was seventeen."

Emi nodded, still wearing that ugly face. She was starting to annoy me. Have you ever met people who just rubbed you the wrong way from the very first moment they say something?

"So, Tai." She turned to face him. "What time do you work at?"

He sighed. "At five. I get off at ten. What are you doing tonight?"

"Homework," she replied with a pout. "But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

They had a short kiss before she left the apartment. It irritated me how she wouldn't even look at me. Daisuke rolled his eyes at me, indicating he wasn't too interested in her either.

"So, you're working tonight?" I asked.

Taichi nodded. "Yeah. What are you doing?"

"I work in the afternoon, but I get off at around six or seven. I'll probably head over to my friend's place."

Daisuke tapped his fingers on the countertop anxiously. "I've gotta get going. Takeru's gonna be pissed if I don't buy our groceries today."

"All right," I said. "See you later."

"Nice to meet you," Taichi half-muttered as Daisuke was leaving. He then turned his attention my way, his eyes focused on the boxes that were scattered around the floor. "Do you need any help putting this stuff anywhere?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I'll be all right."

He smiled. "Okay. I'm gonna jump in the shower."

I nodded as he wandered off. For the next few minutes I organized where in the living room I could fit all of my useless shit. I walked into the bedroom and threw the box I was holding onto my bed, knowing the closet could hide quite a number of items. When I walked out, Taichi was standing there, a small towel wrapped around his waist.

He said something I couldn't quite hear. I was too damn distracted by staring at his stomach, his muscles making him look like a fucking model or something.

"Yamato?"

"Huh?" I automatically replied, being snapped back to reality.

He gave me a smile. "Can you pass me the laundry basket on the couch?"

"Uh ... " I blinked a few times. "Oh!"

I awkwardly grabbed the laundry basket and handed it to him, my mind unable to focus clearly. I'm not sure how he didn't notice; something else must have been in his thoughts.

"Thanks." He made his way to the bedroom, leaving me a faint memory of what he looked like. I shook my head, digging through my pockets.

I needed a fucking joint.

- - - - - - -

Kuro's was a good place to go to on a Friday night. I was happy to work only during the afternoon that day, because although it was a decent place, it could be pretty rough.

Airi greeted me as soon as I entered the bar with an excited, "Yamato, I'm working with _you_ today?!"

I nodded. "I guess so."

She smiled. "Good, 'cause it's been goddamn boring here so far. When do you get off? Seven?"

"Yeah."

She pulled out a mug and began to dry it with her dishtowel. "So, heard from Kuro you got a new place. How is it?"

I shrugged. "All right, I guess. I don't know if it's a for sure thing, though."

"How come?"

"My roommate's just really ... "

Airi shook her head at me. "Yamato Ishida, I _told_ you about moving in with boyfriends. Never really works out, does it?"

Before I could correct her, she hurried off to serve a costumer. I let out a sigh and wiped the counter.

Work was usually this boring. On Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes pretty weird things happened. We would get those occasional costumers who would stand up on a table and start taking their clothes off or something, but then Kuro would have to come out from his office and assist them out.

I stared at his office door, half hoping he would come out and talk to me.

My attention was then drawn elsewhere. A girl who didn't look too much older than me sat down on a stool and dropped some money on the counter.

"Can I have some straight vodka?" she asked, showing me her ID. "Doesn't matter what kind."

I pulled out a bottle and passed her a shot glass. "Meeting someone?"

She shrugged. "Maybe."

I watched her pour herself a shot and drain it quickly. She made a face and poured herself some more. It looked like she had already been drinking, which surprised me. It was going on four o'clock in the afternoon.

She sat up straight. "So, you work here, huh?"

"It appears so."

She snorted. "Y'know, I wish I had the guts to work somewhere like here. I don't mean it's a bad place, just ... you know what I mean. Or maybe I could be a stripper. Any gay stripper clubs around here anywhere?"

"I don't think so."

She smiled. "Then maybe I'll be a hooker."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to do that?"

Her nose twitched. "Well, shit, I didn't _really_ mean that. I ... I don't know. I don't know much of anything anymore. Guess I just wanna piss my parents off some more."

I nodded slowly.

"I came out to them today," she explained, her eyelids half closed.

"How'd that go?"

She shrugged, tears starting in her eyes. "Not well. My mom started freaking out, saying her daughter's going straight to hell, and my father just told me to get out of his house."

Hearing her talk about this was making my breathing difficult.

"So then I left and walked around here, had a few drinks, and now ... " She held up the bottle. "I'm havin' some more." She took a long drink and set the bottle down. "My parents are pretty churchy people. They'll believe in anything a fucking priest says. Well, that's more my mom, I guess. My dad's just a conservative douche-bag."

I knew I had to listen to her, but she was bringing back bad memories.

"Did _you_ have that problem?"

I gazed at the bottle of liquor. "Maybe."

"Probably not. You seem really confident." She shook her head. "I ... I had to wait for _years_ before I could tell them. You know, I've already had three girlfriends before, but I didn't feel right. I felt like I was lying about myself, putting on some sort of an act."

I couldn't listen to any more. I put the bottle away, saying, "I think that's enough for you. Go get some sleep. You seem tired."

She smiled. "Thanks for listening."

I faked a smile.

And that was the first time I thought about my father in over a year.

- - - - - - -

"Matt, you are going to _love_ me."

I was playing some of Sora's video games at her apartment while her and Mimi were snacking on chips and watching me. I looked over at Mimi, confused, and shrugged.

"Well, more than you do already," Mimi added with a smile.

"Why?"

"I know someone who knows someone who's _single_," she said in a sing-song voice.

I snorted. "Forget it."

She pouted. "Why?"

"Blind dates aren't really Mattie's scene," Sora explained for me. "Isn't that right, Matt?"

"Sora, I should move in with you."

She laughed. "No, I don't think so. Why? What's wrong with your apartment? You've lived there for two weeks."

"It's my roommate, I guess."

"How come I still haven't met your roommate yet?" Mimi whined, twirling a piece of blond hair in her fingers.

"Can I guess?" Sora asked with a teasing smile. "Is it because you find him attractive?"

Mimi's mouth dropped open. "What? Is he hot?"

"Can _I_ meet him?"

"Can you guys shut up?" I snapped. "Yeah, he's an all right looking guy, but I just think he's too ... "

"Hot?" Mimi innocently asked, and Sora broke out into a fit of laughter.

I rolled my eyes. "At least I _have_ an apartment, Mimi."

She shrugged with pride. "There's nothing wrong with me living in my parents' place. At least I don't have to worry about paying bills and buying groceries and shit. Besides, I don't think apartments are big enough for me."

"Then buy a fucking house," Sora said. "Your parents would probably pay for it."

She shook her head. "When I move out, it'll be with a handsome doctor."

I laughed. "So you won't marry anyone who isn't a doctor?"

"Nope."

"Well, Sora," I said, "what's your excuse for not having a roommate?"

Mimi snorted. "Matt, you do _not_ want to live with someone like Sora."

Sora laughed. "What? Why?"

"Obsessive compulsive disorder," Mimi sang in a cherry voice.

"Whatever," Sora said with a smile. "I'd rather live with someone who's clean than a spoiled princess."

While they were arguing, I took the opportunity to look around. It was true; Sora's apartment was a little more clean than necessary. But she had a point – I would find it annoying to live with someone like Mimi.

"So," Sora said, eager to get away from the argument, "what's wrong with your roommate, Yamato?"

"We're just too different. I mean, he plays sports, I play music, and ... "

"He plays sports?" Sora asked.

I nodded. "He's obsessed or something. There's posters and shit all over his walls."

"What kind of sports?"

"I don't know."

Mimi smiled. "Interested, Sora?"

"Maybe," she replied, shrugging, but I shook my head.

"Sora, you're _not_ hooking up with my roommate. Not gonna happen."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Yeah, why?" Mimi pressed on.

" 'Cause if you would break up with him, it'd be fucking awkward."

I didn't miss Mimi's knowing look. "Bad idea, Sora. Looks like Mattie here wants to keep his roommate all to himself."

"I do not," I protested, and finally remembered something. "He has a girlfriend."

Sora rolled her eyes. "Great. I'm never gonna meet someone."

"Yeah, because _he's _the only boy on the planet that likes sports."

Suddenly, a ringing came from my jeans' pocket. I pulled out my cell phone, reading a number off the caller ID. A name wasn't presented like usual, but that number was so familiar ...

Then it hit me.

It was Riku's number.

"Who's that?" Mimi asked.

"Just ... my brother," I lied, standing up. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

I left Sora's apartment, staring at my cell phone. I had no fucking idea how Riku would have gotten my new cell number. I made my way out of the building, putting my cell phone away.

And I let it keep ringing.

- - - - - - -

One night after work, I came home and felt my body give up on me. I was so tired. For some reason, I never slept like a normal person. Some nights I wouldn't sleep at all, but then some times I would sleep for twelve hours straight.

My body was so confusing I couldn't even understand it.

I opened the door, chucked my jacket on the coat-hanger, and I entered the living room. Only to find Emi there, dropping fucking rose pedals on the carpet.

She turned around, startled, and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Yamato. I thought you were my boyfriend."

"False alarm," I said, noticing her strange choice in clothing. She was wearing a tight corset with barely enough covered, and her tights weren't really hiding anything. She must have realized this because she grabbed a pillow and covered her cleavage.

"It's his birthday next week," she explained. "I wanted to surprise him."

"It's his birthday?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yamato, can you do me a _small_ favour? Please?"

I shrugged. "What?"

"Can you _please_ just ... go somewhere tonight? Just for tonight, I promise. I just wanna surprise him, and I don't want ... "

I rolled my eyes. "Emi, this is just as much my apartment as it is Tai's. I'm fucking hungry, so I'm getting something to eat."

I started to walk into the kitchen, but Emi grabbed my arm.

"Please, Yamato. Imagine you trying to surprise your girlfriend on her birthday. I just want everything to be _perfect_, you know?"

All I could do was gaze at her, confused. It was the first time she showed something other than annoyance or stubbornness in her voice. She spoke with desperation, like she needed everything to go as planned for the night.

Defeated, I sighed. "Fine. But I won't do this again."

She smiled. "Thanks so much, Yamato. Really."

I gave her a small shrug and left, a strong feeling of heavy jealousy beginning in my stomach for some reason.


	3. The Visit

**Disclaimer: **Nadda mine.

A/N: Sorry about the late update! But here is the third chapter, and don't forget to review =)

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter Three: The Visit_

A loud noise came from the coffee table, drawing my attention to my vibrating cell phone. I paused the movie I was far too into and sighed. Who would be calling me so late?

My question was answered when I read the name "RIKU" on my caller ID.

The next thing I knew, I had the phone to my ear and I was saying, "Hello?"

"Matt! Hey."

"Riku," I greeted, a smile creeping up on my face. "H-how are you?"

"Good. Great. You?"

I nodded slowly. "I'm doing all right."

I heard him sigh. "God, I haven't heard from you in so long."

My mind crossed over to the freshly rolled joint I had in my pocket. I quickly stood up and made my way to the balcony, pulling out my lighter. "Yeah."

There was a silence as I lit it, inhaling deeply, ignoring the rough feeling of my throat. It was easier to ignore than the sick feeling in my stomach. I couldn't believe I was actually speaking to Riku after nearly a year of not seeing him.

"So ... "

"Oh," I said, remembering the phone was on. "Sorry. I'm having a smoke."

"Not a cigarette."

I smiled. "Nope."

"That isn't too surprising."

"What makes you say that?"

He hesitated. "You've always smoked pot. I used to think you had an addiction or something."

A laugh escaped from my mouth. "Can't be addicted to pot."

"Well, I don't know."

"You can be _dependant_ on it."

"Sure. Hopefully you dropped some other rough habits, though."

The pit in my stomach deepened. I hadn't thought about my past addiction in months. There were good things about talking to Riku, like the way he made me feel, but there was also bad things.

He reminded me of my mistakes.

"I'm clean," I announced, more unemotionally than I intended.

"How long?"

"Eleven months."

"Good for you, Matt."

Another silence. I inhaled more and started to feel light-headed. The weed was kicking in, sooner than I expected.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked.

A beeping began in my ear. I sighed. "Riku, can I call you right back? I have a call waiting."

"Sure. Well, why don't you call me back tomorrow?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay. See you."

"Bye," I almost whispered, then switched over. "Yeah?"

"Yamato!" Takeru's voice shouted. "You'll never guess what me and Dai just found."

"What?"

I heard laughter in the background. "Some diary you had when you were in junior high. Dai painting your room and found all this shit in your closet, and he couldn't wait to tell me about it."

"How much of it has he read so far?"

"None," he replied quietly, but I knew he was lying. Daisuke was just too nosy for his own good.

I started thinking about my old journal. How old was I when I had it, twelve? Thirteen? Grade eight, I was sure.

"I'm sure he's loving it," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, when do you wanna come over to pick this shit up?"

"I work till six tomorrow."

"All right. See you then."

I flipped my cell phone shut and tossed my joint off the balcony. It was a long time since I had thought much about that journal. Just thinking about it brought back memories of being so close to Huro, when I was in the closet ...

And when my father would tell me he was proud of me.

A heavy feeling rose in my chest as I walked back into the apartment. I noticed Tai sitting on the couch and dropped myself beside him.

"What's up?"

He shrugged. "Thinking."

My bartending skills told me to talk him into opening up to me. "Something wrong?"

"Well ... " He sighed. "Nothing."

"Do you want a drink?" I stood up and wandered into the kitchen.

"Sure," he murmured, sitting up straight.

I pulled out some coolers from the fridge. "What did you do today?"

"Went out with my buddies. Saw a movie. Then Emi fucking flipped at me."

"How come?"

"Well," he started, twisting the cap off his bottle, "she's been really weird lately, like trying to get more serious. She thinks we should start living together or some shit."

I couldn't help but be a little pissed. I mean, where the fuck would I live if that were to happen?

Tai then shrugged. "She keeps telling me I don't spend enough time with her."

"Do you think that might be true?"

He moved over slightly, and I froze. Our upper arms were touching, causing a shiver to travel through my body. He faced me, and his hot breath felt comforting against my skin.

"Emi's just too fucking dramatic."

The hair on the back of my neck was standing. I felt so attracted to him at that moment, I couldn't even think straight.

"You know, when we started dating, she cheated on me."

Then my mind cleared up. "What the fuck, man?"

"Yeah."

"So why would you stay with her?"

He sighed. "I dunno. Emi has this right weird thing about her -- she puts me on the worst guilt trips. She makes me feel so bad about the most random shit. Know what I mean?"

I nodded.

"This one time we were at a party and she started telling all_ my_ friends she wanted to break up with me 'cause I was being too much of a 'creepy stalker boyfriend'."

"Fuck, man. I knew she was a bitch."

He eyed me angrily.

I held my hands up in defense. "I'm just saying. She cheats on you, spreads rumors about you, and freaks out at you all the time ... she seems kinda crazy. To me, anyway."

"I don't know, man. Emi's got a lot of problems. She's had a tough life."

The image of her desprate face came back into my mind. I don't think I had ever seen someone look at me with such a yearning expression. I sighed.

"Well, would it be worth it to put up with it all the time?"

He smirked. "I guess not."

"Sleep on it," I suggested. "Think about it a little more. Want another drink?"

"Nah. I'm gonna head to bed."

I nodded. "All right, man."

He smiled at me. "Thanks, Yamato."

"You don't have to call me Yamato, you know."

I don't know why I felt the need to say that. When people call me by my full name, it makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable.

He shrugged. "All right. Thanks, Yama."

A smile crept on my face. "No problem."

He put his hand on my knee to help himself stand up. I immediately felt shivers run up my back and my leg went numb. When he shut his bedroom door, I released a shaky sigh. There was something about Tai ...

Even though he didn't know it, he knew just how to make me crazy.

- - - - - - -

"Come on in, Yamato."

I slowly stepped into Huro's office and watched him shuffle through some papers.

Huro was your basic guy. He was tall, dark, and handsome. On game nights when he would put the television on the sports channel, you could hear him yelling from a mile away.

He smiled at me.

He had a nice smile.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Lazy," I replied honestly, taking a seat on one of his chairs. "Long day."

He nodded. "Now, Yamato, there's something we need to talk about."

I stiffened. It wasn't often when Huro spoke in that tone.

"I saw you take a few drinks tonight during your shift." He shifted in his seat, and I could tell he was uncomfortable. "Yamato, you know I'm not really good at stuff like this -- lectures and shit. But you have to be careful for now on, okay?"

"Sorry," I said sheepishly.

He shook his head. "I'm not mad at you. I'm more-so concerned. You've never done things like that before."

"Long day," I repeated.

"Hey, if anything was bothering you, you would tell me, right?"

I nodded. "Of course."

"So nothing's wrong?"

"Nope."

He didn't seem at all convinced. "All right then. Where you off to now?"

"Takeru's. He found this journal I used to have when I was a kid. It's good to look back sometimes."

He smirked. "Any mentions of me in there?"

"Maybe," I said, not willing to admit the thousands of times I wrote his name down.

- - - - - - -

"What took you so long? I thought you were off at six."

I entered Takeru's apartment and sighed. "I had to work a little late and talk to Huro."

Dai stepped out from my old bedroom. "Oh yeah? How'd that go? Judging from your diary, that ... "

"Hey," Takeru warned Dai in a sharp voice. "He didn't read a word of it, Matt."

I rolled my eyes. "How's my life so far, Dai?"

"Fucking awesome," he replied. "I feel like I was watching a soap opera or something. Shit, I didn't think you and Huro were all _that_ close ... "

"What? How far did you get?"

"Half way. You just snuck out of your house to meet up with some people at your school."

I nodded.

Takeru looked at me. "What is he talking about with Huro?"

"Here," Dai said, flipping through the pages of my journal. "There's a part where -- "

I snatched the book from my brother's boyfriend. "I think that's enough for you."

"But I'll never know if ... "

"What's up?" I asked Takeru.

He shrugged. "I got a letter from the university. Got accepted."

I smiled. "Hey, Teeks, that's great. Going in the fall?"

He shrugged.

"You seem thrilled."

"Well, I don't know if I wanna go back to school yet. I got offered assistant manager at the convinent store I'm working at. But I'd have to keep working full-time."

"I'd go to school," I said. "I'd give anything to go back."

Dai laughed. "Who the fuck needs education?"

"Are you planning on working at fast food your whole life?" I asked.

"Meh." Dai shrugged. "Just until I figure out what I wanna do."

I gazed at the little book in my hands and sighed deeply. My middle school journal. Holy fuck, this was gonna be something.

- - - - - - -

I was in my boxers and a T-shirt digging into some chips when there was a knock on the door. I groaned softly and stood up, recieving a bit of a headrush.

When I opened my apartment door, I stood face-to-face with Riku for the first time in a year.

"Riku ... "

He leaned himself on the door frame. "Why haven't you called me back?"

I inhaled his scent and closed my eyes. "I-I don't know ... "

We were silent for a few minutes before Riku laughed.

"Are you gonna let me in?"

"Oh!" I cried, feeling more stupid than I ever had. "Yeah, sure. Make yourself at home. Uh ... how did you know I live here now?"

"Takeru told me."

He entered my apartment and nodded with approval. "Hey, this is a pretty nice place. I was thinking lately about getting a place of my own, since ... I've got a job now and all."

I smiled and sat back onto the couch. "You're working?"

He smiled. "Yeah. Shocking, huh?"

"Never thought I'd live to see the day where you'd get a job. Where at?"

"Call in centre."

He sat beside me and just looked into my eyes. There was a strange expression on his face, like admiration or affection or something.

"What have you been up to, Matt?"

"Uh, working at Huro's bar."

"Oh yeah? Still good friends with him?"

I nodded.

"That's good."

"Do you wanna tell me why you're here, Riku?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

He looked at the coffee table and shrugged. "I have a job. I ... I'm applying at the college up town. I actually went to a fucking youth options last week. My life's on the right track for once."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "That's good to hear."

His green eyes sparkled. "I haven't drank in fifty-three days."

I smiled.

He faced me again. "I can't stop thinking about you, Matt. I've never stopped loving you. I feel fucking terrible with the way things ended. I'm better now. I'll treat you better. I swear, Matt."

We made eye contact, and he began leaning towards me. I leaned in, too, until I heard the door open.

"Yama?"

I closed my eyes. "Yeah, Tai."

"Oh, you're home." I heard my roommate throw his keys onto the table and walk into the living room. "You won't believe the fucking day I had. First, I -- "

He stopped when he saw Riku. "Oh, hey. I'm Tai."

Riku stood up and offered Tai his hand. They shook hands, and that is when Riku said to my roommate,

"Nice to meet you. I'm Matty's ex-boyfriend."

And that is when I slapped my forehead.


	4. The Memory

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything, so don't sue me!

A/N: Thank you to my reviewers! Haha, sorry about the last chapter's cliff-hanger. To make up for it, I thought I'd give you an early update. I know the beginning of this chapter is confusing, but by the end of the story, everything will make sense. Just bare with me.

Anyway! Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review =) Oh, and happy Easter!

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter Four: The Memory_

That was absolutely not anything near what I had expected. I couldn't even look at Tai. Instead, my eyes wandered to the back of my head as I groaned.

Riku shrugged. "I guess I better get going. Call me, 'kay, Matty?"

There was nothing I could do but glare at him. He had never called me "Matty" before.

When he left, it gave me an even bigger reason to be pissed at him.

"Who ... " Tai started, but his voice trailed off.

I sighed. "That was my ex-boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? Since when the fuck have you had a _boy_friend? Why ... "

"_Ex_-boyfriend."

"What does that mean?"

My mind suddenly flooded with memories. When I looked at Tai, I didn't see my roommate. I saw a middle-aged man with greying hair glaring at me with disapproval. His eyes were piercing into me, and it almost made me shake.

When I looked at the situation, I saw the same situation I was in five years before.

When I looked at Tai, I saw my father, demanding in a disgusted voice, "What does _that_ mean?!"

I had to close my eyes to keep the memory from coming, but it kept going.

While sheepishly gazing at my feet, I softly replied, "Means I like boys."

He snorted. "So I guess you're not my son."

"Well?" Tai snapped, bringing me back to reality.

My face heated with anger. "It means I'm gay, and if you have a fucking problem with that, I don't really give a shit."

My heart was pounding as the memory kept coming.

"I always knew there was something fucked about you," my father had said. "Too much like your mother, you know that? I always saw her in you. You don't look like her, but you're **vulernable **like her."

"I can't change the way I am."

He crossed his arms. "Then maybe you should move in with her."

"What?"

He shook his head. "I can't have a fucking fag for a son."

I held my head with my hands and took in deep breaths. _Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it ..._

He looked away from me. "God, it makes me sick just looking at you."

_Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it, don't fucking think about it ..._

"How can you even look at yourself?"

_Don't think about it ..._

"Shit. Get out, already!"

I let out a frustrated groan and absent-mindedly threw a plate at the wall. It was too painful to keep my mind aware of what was happening. The memory I had managed to flush out for three years was hitting me hard.

"Yamato, what is wrong with you?"

"What?!" I shouted at Tai. "Being gay means being wrong?!"

"No, you're freaking out!"

I began seeing red as the next line came.

"How long does it take to open a fucking door and walk out of it?!"

My eyes were starting to burn and a lump was in my throat, but I ignored it.

"I can't change who I am, Tai."

He stared at me with confusion. "Yama, you have to calm down. Seriously. It's not a big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal. I have to live my whole fucking life being judged by people like you, and it's not easy. Do you know how hard it is to -- "

"I'm not judging you!" he cried in a much more angry voice than I expected him to have. "You're judging _me _the exact same way you think I'm judging you. I'm just pissed because you didn't tell me."

I faced the window and sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I turned around. "'Cause I needed a place to live, and I knew you grew up on the other side of town."

"What difference does that make?"

"Everything," I spat. "That place is fucking naive-ville. Where I grew up, a lot more people were aware of a lot more shit."

"So just because I was raised uptown means I'm homophobic?"

"Maybe."

He rolled his eyes. "You still should've told me."

"Want me to wear my 'I'M GAY' sign all the time?"

"Fuck, Yama, you have to relax."

"Whatever," I muttered, making my way to the bedroom.

He shook his head. "We still need to talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?"

"I think you should have told me you were having a boyfriend over."

"What? Why?"

He looked uncomfortable. "I don't know."

"In case we went to the bedroom or something?"

He shrugged. "I don't have a problem with it, it just ... "

"Am I allowed to have sex, Tai?"

"Well, yeah, I just ... it just makes me uncomfortable, you know?"

"And you think I didn't feel uncomfortable when you and Emi were fucking all the time?"

"Well that's not possible."

I laughed. "How so?"

"Me and Emi never had sex."

That certainly shut me up.

"But anyway, me and Emi were different. She -- "

"Why? Because you guys are straight?"

"I understand you're upset, Yama, but try to look at it from my point of view. I do not have any issue with gay people, but it just surprised me."

Before I could reply, he continued:

"I don't see you in a different way, but it's weird that you lied about who you were. It's like I can't trust you, you know?"

I stared at him, and after a few minutes I sighed.

"Sorry," I murmured, then cracked my neck. "I just have bad experiences from shit like this."

"I can tell. Look, let's just ... start over, okay?"

"I'm gonna go to a friend's house," I said, opening the door. "I guess ... I'll see you later."

And with that, I left.

--

Bitching to Sora didn't really help me.

Sora was one of those people who had an opinion about everything, and she seemed to agree with Tai's finding the situation uncomfortable, claiming if she lived with a lesbian, she would feel awkward too.

Even though I was kind of pissed, I stayed the night at her place and left for work the next morning.

Day shifts were pretty boring, so the bar didn't start getting busy until around six o'clock.

I was surprised when I found myself happy when Dai walked in.

"Hey!" I greeted with a smile. "What's up?"

He shrugged. "Waiting for your brother."

"What are you guys up to?"

He grinned at me. "Going out to supper. Kind of an ... anniversary kinda thing."

"What? How long?"

"Two years."

I nodded. Somehow it seemed like just a week before they got together. It's weird to think how time works. One day you blink, the next day you regret it.

"Wanna give me some rum?" he asked with a hopeful look.

I hit him with my dishcloth. "Have an ID?"

He laughed. "What've you been up to?"

"Being stressed."

He looked at me, confused. "Why?"

"My roommate found out I'm gay."

"Oh yeah? How'd he take that?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Would you care if I crashed on your couch for a few days?"

"Did that fucker kick you out?"

"No."

"So why would you wanna do that?"

I didn't reply.

When Takeru walked in, I figured I had to be blind to miss Dai's excited expression. I was happy for my brother, but at the same time I felt a sting of jealousy stab me.

"Ready?" Dai asked.

Takeru nodded. "What's up, Matt?"

"Call me this weekend."

He smiled. "Will do. Seeya."

"Bye," I said, watching them leave. Then I noticed something.

A boy around my age -- maybe a little older -- was watching me. I felt myself beam with excitment and pretended to look busy. He had dark hair and a little facial hair, but not enough to make him look unattractive. I wished I could see the colour of his eyes, but it was too far a distance.

When we made eye contact, he grinned and made his way over to the bar.

"Can I have a beer?"

I faced him and nodded.

His eyes were a bluish-green, and I liked them.

"Do you come here often?" I asked, pulling out an Alpine and a glass.

"Yeah. When I have time."

"Don't think I've seen you too much."

"Me neither. I would have remembered seeing you."

I know that was completely corny, but it made me smile. "Had enough drinks yet?"

He chuckled. "I'm Akio."

I introduced myself. "Do you live around here, Akio?"

"A few blocks away. I'm guessing you live downtown."

"Nah."

"Uptown boy?"

I smirked. "I was raised downtown, though."

I felt the need to point that out. Uptown was pretty much where all the rich people lived and, frankly, they were all snobby bitches who thought they ran the city.

"So, who were you just chatting with?" he asked.

"Just my brother and his boyfriend. They come see me a lot."

"No boyfriends coming to visit?"

"Well, I'd need a boyfriend for that to happen, wouldn't I?"

He smiled. "Guess so. Are you working all night?"

I checked my watch. "A few more hours."

He gave me another charming grin. "I've got time."

I felt myself lighten with excitment, but I couldn't get my fucking roommate off my mind.

--

"Tamu does that _all_ the time."

Sora and I just looked at each other. Mimi and her boyfriend had only been dating for a few days, but it seemed like she never shut up about him.

"Oh yeah," Sora said, though I could tell she wasn't interested.

Mimi smiled. "Yep. He snores a lot, too."

"Cool," I said.

"Where's your roommate?" Sora asked, just as desprate to change the subject as I was.

"I dunno. He's fucking awkward now."

"Troubles in paradice?" Mimi asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, since I told him I'm gay, it's just weird being around him now."

Mimi tilted her head. "How'd he find out?"

"Riku," I replied dryly.

She made a sour face. "How's he doing."

I flipped opened my cell phone and showed them the missed calls and text messages he'd sent me. Sora knew it was best to take my side, but Mimi seemed to think otherwise.

"You should give him another chance. He's trying so hard to change."

I shrugged. "I don't have time for his shit."

Sora pulled out her new pipe and sighed. "I think we should have a session."

"All right," I said, passing her the bag from my pocket.

"None for me," Mimi replied. "That reminds me -- I was _so_ fucked on ectasy the other night, I -- "

Sora slapped her arm, and she immediately shut up.

I bit my lip and handed Sora my lighter, muttered a "whatever" and frowned.

At that moment, Tai's house phone rang. I didn't usually answer it since no one I knew called, so the answering machine picked it up. It was working fine, I guess, because I heard a female voice say:

"Hey, Tai. It's Emi. I ... I know we're not on speaking terms right now, but I honestly can't stop thinking about you. I feel like such a shaddy bitch for saying all those things. I've just been stressed out lately, and ... ugh, I don't know. Call me back, okay? I ... I love you."

And she hung up.

I stared at the phone, cracking my knuckles. Then I heard the two girls laugh.

"What?" I snapped.

Mimi giggled. "You're jealous."

I shook my head and dismissed the thought, but I didn't realize how true the fact was until later that week.


	5. The Mistake

**Disclaimer: **Nadda.

A/N: Sorry about taking forever to update, but here it is! Oh, and sorry about that cliff-hanger ...

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter Five: The Mistake_

I answered the door, and as soon as I did, Takeru said,

"Dai bought a fucking pool table."

"Uh ... what?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He bought a _pool table_. He didn't even ask me if he could, and there's no goddamn room for it. So now he wants to move all our shit around and fit it in the living room, and I –"

"Takeru, calm down. I think it'd be cool to have a pool table."

"He didn't even think about telling me until I came home."

"All right." I pulled out a chair for my younger brother and slapped it. "Sit down and tell me what's wrong."

He shrugged and sat down. "What? Nothing."

"It's not like you to be pissed off about something like that. Obviously something else is bothering you."

"I was talking to Mom today."

"How's she doing?"

"Good. Anyway, she told me she was working the other day at the grocery store and saw someone we know. From the way she explained it, I think it sounds pretty fucked. She told me her stomach started flipping and her hands were shaking like crazy."

I scratched the back of my neck. "Who was it?"

"Who do you think?"

I smirked. "Dad."

We were silent for a few minutes. I clenched my teeth and wondered when the last time I had seen my father was. For some reason I was constantly given reminders of him; I was having a pretty good life not thinking about him. Couldn't I just forget about him again?

"Did she talk to him?" I asked.

Takeru shook his head. "No. She told me she just kept working." His eyes were on the floor. "What would you do?"

I let out a laugh. "I don't even want to think about that. It'd probably never happen anyway."

"Still," he pressed on. "Would you talk to him?"

"Honestly? You really wanna know what I'd do?"

He nodded.

"I'd pull his fucking teeth out with my bare fucking hands."

He looked at me with concern. "Jesus, Matt. You're pretty bitter sometimes. It kinda scares me."

I gave him a smile. "Sorry."

"Last time I saw him," he started, then quickly closed his mouth. After a few seconds, he added, "He told me I'd never see him again."

There was a weird tone in his voice, as if he was trying to hide something from me.

"But anyway," he said, "_I'd_ probably act like I didn't even see him."

There was another silence. I was too lost in thought to think of anything to say. I felt a lump in my throat I couldn't swallow, so I bit my lip and took in a deep breath. I didn't want to show Takeru how much our father got to me.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"For what?"

"Bringing it up," he replied with a shrug.

I shook my head. "Don't even worry about it. But I'm guessing you should get home soon before Dai puts that pool table in the bathroom."

He rolled his eyes. "Jesus, he _would_ do that."

We stood up, and before Takeru left, he put his hand on my back sincerely. It took me by surprise. My brother and I had grown up in a family where we didn't express our feelings or show affection.

By having him do that, it made me realize Takeru was stronger than me.

I let out a sigh and wandered into my bedroom. In my closet, I had a bunch of old shit like pictures of Takeru and I when we were young, my diary I got from him and Dai, and a memory box of Riku. Then something caught my eye.

My old tin container I used to keep my ecstasy. And when I opened it, I found seven tiny green pills inside it.

I watched as my hands began shaking and threw the tin container with the pills inside back into my closet.

I had to get the fuck away from that closet.

--

I had a long shift to work, but I was actually looking forward to it. For the past few days, Akio had been coming to see me. And it seemed like every time he did, he was always finding ways to look at least a little better.

On this particular day, he didn't come until after eight.

But that didn't make me any less excited.

"What's up?" I greeted, admiring his choice of clothing.

He shrugged. "Pondering what to drink. Any suggestions?"

"I've always been a fan of Alpine."

He made a sour face. "I'll have a Budweiser."

I nodded and poured him a glass. I could feel him watching me intentively. I knew he was into me. It was cool, but it also felt awkward in a way – the last boy who showed any interest in me was Riku, and that turned into three years I could never take back.

But I forced myself to sigh.

Akio wasn't Riku.

"How's your night going so far?" Akio asked, returning me to reality.

"Can't complain. And yours?"

He smiled. "It's goin' all right now."

I felt myself flush. Apparently, he was a charmer.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"What are you doing Friday night?"

I shrugged with disappointment. "Working. As if I have any other kind of life. What about Saturday?"

"Well, I work that night, so how about next Friday?"

"Free," I replied.

"Great," he said. "I'll be right back."

I watched him walk away and felt a beam of excitement. Did he just ask me out? I could hardly believe it. It had always been me asking them, or friends getting us together. But this time, _someone_ was asking _me_ out.

That's when a decent night became slightly interesting, because at that moment, Taichi Yagami walked in.

I had never told Tai I worked at Huro's. What was he doing?

"Tai?"

He completely froze before slowly turning around to face me. "Yamato?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You work _here_?"

"Apparently."

He stared at me until his face grew red. "Oh, fuck."

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh ... your, uh, brother told me I'd find you here, and I was ..." He cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you needed anything at the store?"

I smirked. I'm not an idiot – I can tell a desperate lie from a good deed.

"Pick me up some nachos," I said casually.

He then smiled. "Sounds good. See ya."

I don't know if I had ever seen someone leave a building as fast as he did. My mind was spinning. Obviously he didn't know I worked there. So what was he doing in a gay bar? Did he know it was a gay bar?

He must have. Everyone knows what Huro's is.

So what was he thinking?

Was he ...

"Who was that?"

I turned my attention to Akio. "Just my roommate. So – next Friday?"

"Absolutely," he replied, handing me a piece of paper with numbers written on it. "That's my cell. Give me a shout, okay?"

"Sure," I said with a smile.

Akio left the bar with excitement on his expression, but I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. What would Tai think of ...

Then I scowled at myself. Why would Tai care?

And for the rest of the night, I was torn between guilt and anger for not being able to get my fucking roommate off my mind.

--

When I came home from work, I knew it would be stupid of me to corner Tai and demand him to tell me why he was at Huro's. So, a different idea came to mind.

Pretend it never happened.

He was laying on the couch watching a movie, and when he noticed I was home, he sat up quickly.

"Yamato, I –"

"What's up?" I asked, throwing my body onto the chair.

He eyed me suspiciously. "Uh, nothing really. Kinda falling asleep."

I sighed. "Man, work was fucking brutal tonight. You should have stayed longer, I would've poured you a couple of drinks."

"Mm ... yeah."

I was pretending to watch the movie, but really my mind was spinning even more. What was going through his head? Was he embarrassed?

"Yama," he said, his voice full of emotion, "when I said you should have told me you're gay, I didn't mean it the way you took it. I ... I meant that you shouldn't be hiding who you are, you know? Don't be ashamed to show people the real you."

I was taken by surprise. "Thanks, Tai. It really means a lot to me to hear someone say that."

"Well, you're welcome. You're just ... really defensive about it. Any idea why?"

I knew exactly why, but I answered, "No."

I guess he could tell I was lying because he stood up, made his way over to me, and then sat on the armrest of the chair.

"You don't have to hide who you are to be accepted. You know that, right?"

I shrugged. "Maybe not for some people."

"What do you mean?"

My voice was stuck in my throat.

Tai then tilted my chin with his finger and looked me straight in the eye. "Yama, you can tell me."

My face was burning with anger. I didn't want to think about my father. I just wanted to bury the whole situation and forget that he ever happened. When I moved in with my mother, she sent me to therapy, claiming I had "unresolved" feelings towards my father.

But I didn't tell my therapist anything.

I didn't tell anyone about it, and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Yama, the only way to get over something is by talking about it. Trust me."

He wasn't going to quit until I told him. I had my eyes closed with frustration. Then an idea occurred to me.

"Tai, I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone before."

"Okay."

"But one minute," I said, rushing to my bedroom.

I tore open my closet and spent no time at all trying to find that container with seven green pills inside. When I did, I took out four and ran into the bathroom. I hurriedly poured myself a glass of water from the sink and dropped the pills inside.

It had been eleven months since I'd taken ecstasy.

Was I willing to throw all that away just to feel good for one night?

I stared at the water. I remembered all the times Riku and I would go to parties completely high out of our minds. I remembered all the good times we had forgetting about everything ...

And then I remembered the time he kissed someone right in front of me.

And the time he punched me from being too high to control himself.

And the time I violently threw up for two days straight from taking a pill that turned out to be pure meth.

And the time everyone at a party saw me at my worst and never stopped talking about it for another year.

I put the glass down.

I wasn't going to do ecstasy that night, no matter how much I wanted to.

I returned to the living room and sat on the couch.

"When I was fourteen, I decided to come out of the closet. My friends were pretty cool about it, my mom said she already knew, and Takeru obviously didn't care. But ... then ... I dunno. I guess my dad wasn't wild about the idea."

"What makes you think that?"

I smirked. " 'Cause he kicked me out and I haven't heard from him since."

My eyes started stinging as they watered up quickly. Saying it aloud didn't really help me, it just made me more upset about it. It felt more real after that.

Tai stood up, claiming he'd be right back, and ran into the bathroom. When he returned, he sat beside me. "Keep going."

I sighed. "It's just ... my dad was my best friend before that happened. He went to all my practises, all my games, all my shows ... I thought he'd be fine with it. I thought he would be proud of me for opening up to the world, you know?"

"Yeah."

"It's just really shitty when the person who's supposed to love you most turns their back on you."

"So then what'd you do?"

"Well, my mom took me in. She really saved me."

He put his hand on my knee, and I felt shivers run up my leg. He read my mind perfectly and slowly slid his hand up my leg and onto my thigh. I didn't even realize what was happening until he undid my button and pulled down my zipper.

"Tai?"

He looked into my eyes with passion. Suddenly, everything just felt right.

I felt myself harden and shifted my hips. "What are you doing?"

When he wrapped his hand around me, I felt nothing but pleasure and frustration run through me. I couldn't stop squirming.

I had always found Tai attractive, but until that moment he was off limits.

But when he pumped his hand up and down my member, I knew I needed him. I wanted him _so _bad, it could have driven me utterly insane.

"Faster," I whispered to him, pulling down my jeans.

I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head as I realized I couldn't control my breathing worth a damn. I moaned and bit my lip to shut myself up.

"Harder," I panted, and he obeyed me immediately.

It didn't go on for very long, because as soon as he started kissing my neck, I couldn't help but release. It had been so long since I'd been with someone intimately ...

Tai was still kissing my neck and had begun sucking it. I was at a lost for words.

"Are you gonna return the favour?" he whispered in my ear, placing my hand on his erection.

I smiled and ran my hand up and down it, watching him squirm and enjoying the way I made him so impatient. I tugged down his jeans and wrapped my mouth around his member and listened to him moan loudly.

It was fucking music to my ears.

He put his fingers in my hair and pulled lightly. I could tell he was loving it. When he pushed my head down, I went down. When he told me to suck harder, I sucked harder. I could feel the heat coming off his body.

It didn't take him long at all to release.

I swallowed it and immediately collapsed on him. It took me a few minutes to actually realize Tai and I had just fooled around. And not only that, but ...

Tai had started the whole thing.

"Fuck," he said, kissing me roughly.

"How was that?" I asked him teasingly, and he smiled and shook his head.

I don't remember falling asleep, but I guess I did because I woke up in a pretty weird shock.

--

"Yamato, what the _fuck_?"

My eyes sprung open. Tai pushed me off him and stood up. "What are you doing?"

I saw the light coming out of the window and realized it must have been the next morning. I groaned and sat up. "What?"

Then his eyes widened. "Oh, fuck. Yamato, did we do anything last night?"

"What?" I repeated.

"What the fuck was I drinking last night?" he muttered, most likely to himself, and rubbed his temples. "I feel so fucking sick ..."

"You were _drunk_ last night?"

"No, but ... oh, fuck, Yama, what we did last night was nothing but a mistake."

I froze. "Are you fucking serious?"

"It shouldn't have happened. I wasn't thinking straight, I just ..."

"Tai, what the fuck?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, it was just in the heat of the moment. Something just suddenly came over me ... I never felt like that before."

"You never fooled around before?"

He laughed. "We weren't fooling around."

"All right then. You never got head before?"

"Not by, you know, a guy ..."

"You didn't seem to mind it."

He shook his head. "Trust me, Yama, I'm not like that. I just ... look, I'm gonna go. We'll talk about this later, all right?"

"You're gonna leave right _now_?"

"I'm sorry," he said, and with that, he left.

I stood up, ignored my head rush, and screamed into my hands. What the fuck was his problem? How could he think it was okay to do that to me?

I walked into the bathroom, desperate for a shower, and allowed something to catch my eye.

The glass of water I had the night before was empty.

The glass of water that contained four hits of ecstasy was empty.

Did Tai ... ?


	6. The Date

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing at all. I'm kind of a loser like that.

A/N: I actually didn't plan on updating this early, but since there's not too many chapters left, I decided to make up for that last cliff-hanger.

Embrace yourself for a loooooong chapter ...

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter Six: The Date _

Tai didn't come home until late that night.

I had stayed home for the day and fiddled around with my guitar for the first time in what felt like forever. I used to think every issue and fucked up thing that happens to you in life was for a purpose. My purpose was to write music.

We think of strange things when we're young. I mean, I actually thought I could be a famous musician someday.

Weird, huh?

When my roommate came home and threw his eyes on the table, I didn't remove my eyes off the television set.

"What?" he snapped.

I didn't reply.

He sighed angrily and opened the fridge. "C'mon, Yama, you can't stay mad at me forever."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Bull_shit_."

I made eye contact with him. "I actually am not mad at you. I know why you did what you did."

"Really."

"Yeah."

He shrugged and took a seat on the couch. "Then enlighten me, Yama. Why did I do it?"

"You were on E."

Silence.

I smirked. "And now you're crashed. That's why you're in a horrible mood."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"When you come off your high on ecstasy, it's like a hangover, except ten times worse. Have you gotten sick or dizzy at all today?"

"When and how was I on E?"

"Did you drink that water from the bathroom last night?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Why, was that yours?"

I nodded. "Yep. And it had four hits of E in it. Ever done ecstasy before?"

"No ..."

"Well ..." I turned my attention back to the television. "There you go."

He laughed humourless. "Yama, why was there ecstasy in your drink?"

I shook my head. "I don't wanna get into that right now, okay? The point it, you were high last night, and I'm really not mad at you."

"So ... you're a pothead, and you do ecstasy?"

"Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously I know you're a stoner. And now you're telling me you had ecstasy in my apartment?"

"_Your_ apartment?"

"Look, weed's one thing, but E is a real drug. Emi used to have an addiction to it, and it fucks with your head. Do you think you might have a problem or something?"

I stood up. "Tai, you're really pissing me off."

"Hey, I'm just asking."

"I'll admit that, yeah, I had some problems with ecstasy in the past, but I'm fine now. To be honest with you, I was tempted to drink that water for ten seconds, but I didn't. And it was fucking stupid of me to leave it there. Why are you being such an asshole to me anyway?"

He looked furious for a second, and then his expression softened. "Sorry." He rubbed his eyes. "I've been feeling really weird today."

I nodded. "Yeah. You're crashed."

Tai let out a sigh and threw his feet onto the coffee table casually. It infuriated me.

"So you're just gonna ignore what happened?"

"What?"

"We fooled around last night, Tai. Maybe you're feeling okay about it now, but I'm not at all."

He smirked. "Thought you weren't mad at me."

"I'm not. I'm confused at you."

"How?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I don't know ... I just don't think it's fair to have you fuck around with my head like that. I might not look like it, but I'm fucked, Tai. I get attached to people way too easily, and ... ugh, just forget it."

He sat up and faced me. "Look, Yama, I really am sorry ..."

"Just ... don't worry about it," I assured him, making my way to the door.

I couldn't help but hope he would come after me, but he didn't.

--

"You look like shit."

"Thanks."

"Well, I guess you don't look as good as you normally do. What's the matter?"

I sat on one of Huro's chairs and shrugged. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Matt."

I looked up at him with guilt. "If I told you something, would you judge me?"

He shook his head.

"Well, I was digging through my room and I found a bit of ecstasy that I bought a few months ago and I guess I forgot about it."

Huro stared at me with utter disappointment. "Oh, fuck, Matt ..."

"I didn't take it," I told him. "I was going to, but I didn't. But ... my roommate took it unknowingly. So one thing led to another, and we ended up fooling around and shit. But this morning when he woke up he kept saying it was a mistake, and, I dunno, I guess I'm just feeling pretty down."

"I take it he's straight?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Well ... I think so, anyway."

"Before last night, did you ever suspect that he might not be?"

I was going to shake my head, but then I remembered. He was at Huro's. He didn't know I worked there, he must have known it was a gay bar, and he was there. Why? Did he feel curious or something?

"In my opinion," Huro said, opening the door for me, "liquor or drugs don't influence us to do things we normally wouldn't do. They just give us the courage to do what we want to do."

"Yeah, that makes sense ..."

He smiled.

"But how come he regrets it?"

"Maybe he's scared of himself."

I considered it. But then I sighed.

"Yamato, you're too much of a pessimistic, you know that? You always have been, and it's always kept you from seeing anything good."

"You think?"

"Promise me you'll think about it?" he asked, giving me a grin.

"Promise."

He kissed the top of my head and left his office.

My goal was accomplished – I had complained to Huro about my situation, but I didn't expect our conversation to open my mind so much. Was it possible that Tai was just too afraid to embrace his feelings?

--

"What?"

I shrugged. "I just thought it'd be easier on both of us."

"Easier?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "Wouldn't you like it if I moved out?"

Tai rolled his eyes in frustration. "Yama, we're just going through a weird time, but it'll pass. If you were to move out, that would be you running away from our problem. We have to deal with it, and _then_ it'll go away."

I laughed to myself. "Tai, I really respect you saying that, but trust me – it really would be for the best."

"Why? Then who would help me pay the rent?"

"Anyone."

He sighed. "Yeah, but I _like_ you. I can _stand_ living with you, you know? It was just a one time thing, Yama. I don't want that to affect our friendship."

It was then when I realized he wasn't going to let me leave until I told him the truth. Fuck, I didn't want to tell him. I hate facing those "issues". What would have been the harm in running away from it? That was how I dealt with everything else.

"I really, really need to move out, Tai."

"Where would you go?"

"Sora's. She has a spear bedroom."

"I thought she was a neat freak or something."

I shook my head. "Man, honestly, don't worry about it, okay?"

"It would just be a lot less complicated if you stayed."

"Yeah ..." I stood up. "Maybe for _you_."

"Yama, how about you tell me what's _really_ going on."

I took in a deep breath and explained calmly,

"Tai, I spent the past three days doing nothing but thinking about you. I'm pretty sure I'm starting to get all these feelings for you and shit, and fooling around the other night really didn't help anything. Especially how you're choosing to ignore it ever happened. And if I live here, seeing you and being around you all the time would just hurt me."

When I looked into his eyes, I knew he had nothing to say.

"Can I leave now?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not letting you hide from your problems. We'll figure it out, okay?"

He then walked over to me and held my face with his hand. "I promise."

And with that, he walked into his bedroom, leaving me standing there in a daze.

--

I thought Saturday night would never come, but when it did, I found out that Akio was quite the romantic. He held every door we walked through opened for me, he pulled out my chair when we were seated at the table, and he offered to pay for anything I wanted to have.

It was nice, I suppose, but I was so used to dating Riku, who found it a chore to take me out anywhere or to be the least bit decent to me.

"The pasta here in unbelievable," Akio informed me. "I swear, it must be addictive or something."

I smiled and gazed out the window, lost in my own thoughts.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

I looked down at my menu and shrugged. "Getting there."

There was an awkward silence as I pretended to be reading the menu. Finally, he cleared his throat and asked me what I do for a living, other than bartending.

"I play guitar," I half-lied. "And I guess I paint a lot. And, uh ..."

Then it occurred to me. I didn't have a fucking hobby.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm a student."

"What are you taking?"

He sighed. "Mostly creative writing and performing arts. I'm planning on being a professor. Four more years to go ..."

I smiled. "You know, my brother's planning on being a high school teacher."

"Oh, you have a brother? Any other siblings?"

"Just Takeru. Do you?"

He shrugged. "Only child."

"Believe me, you don't want brothers or sisters. There isn't a day that goes by when my brother and his boyfriend don't bug the shit out of me."

He laughed, but something else caught every ounce of my attention.

_Tai_ walked in.

But that wasn't the bad part at all.

_Emi _was with him.

Seeing them together brought a sick feeling to my stomach. All I wanted to do was stand up and knock him out. Why would he be with her? Were they on a date? Were they getting back together? Why is she good enough for him but I wasn't?

"Yamato? You all right?"

I faced Akio. "Yeah. Just a little tired."

While the waitress came by and took our order, I could do nothing but stare at Tai. Why was he with _her_?

"Hey, Akio, would you mind it I went out for a smoke?"

He seemed concerned, but replied, "Sure."

I quickly walked to the door and went into the closest alley to pull out a perfectly rolled joint. When I reached for my lighter and attempted to light it, I realized the damn thing was broken. I tried to get it working a few more times before furiously chucking it to the ground.

"Hey, Yama."

I turned around and smirked at Tai. "Oh. Hey."

We both leaned against the brick wall in silence. After a few moments, he sighed.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"He isn't my boyfriend."

"Who is he?"

I shrugged. "Someone I'm on a date with?"

We were silent for another few seconds.

"You never told me you were going on a date tonight." He shrugged. "Would have been nice to know."

"Did I need your permission, Mister Yagami?"

"No," he said, holding his hands up in defence. "I'm just saying."

"Oh, so you're jealous."

He snorted. "No."

"Well, you didn't tell me you're on a date with _that_ bitch. What are you doing with her, anyway? Didn't she break all your shit or something?"

"Yeah. I dunno." He kicked the wall. "Are you moving back in soon?"

"I never moved out."

He smiled.

"Why'd you come out here?" I blurted out.

"I just ..." He hesitated. "It was just weird seeing you with someone else."

"What do you want from me, Tai? Do you expect me to just wait around and not be with anyone while you can be with whoever the fuck you want?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I said."

"Can I ask you something?"

He looked at his feet. "Sure."

"You didn't know I worked at Huro's. I know you didn't. So ... why were you there?"

He kicked the wall again. "I was curious."

"About what?"

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips. "I don't know, okay? I'm just not very comfortable talking about this."

"Did you think you were gay or something?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, if you did, it was a stupid thing to think and really stupid to let me believe it, too." I closed my eyes. "You would have known about it by now, anyway."

He looked at me. "What do you mean?"

"Tai, you don't just wake up one morning and decide that you might be gay. It's something you think about for your whole life."

"Really?"

I nodded.

"Well ... I guess I've always felt kinda different. In a sense, I mean."

I couldn't believe how uncomfortable he was. His eyes were on his shoes, his cheeks were red, and his hands were almost shaking. I bit my lip and examined him. Maybe he was being honest. Maybe he wasn't just fucking around with my head.

Maybe his head was just as fucked as mine.

"I'm so mad at myself," he said, "for ignoring this ... this ..."

I put my hand on his arm. "I know what you're going through. It'll be all right, I promise."

His eyes met mine, and we both froze. It took every ounce of energy and strength inside of me to keep myself from kissing him, and I hoped to fucking God that he felt the same way. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and leaned in towards me. I did the same until our lips met.

He put his arms around me and I placed my hands on the back of his neck. I felt his hair with my fingertips. Everything felt _right_.

I never wanted to let go.

But at that moment, we heard the restaurant door open and footsteps coming towards us. Tai jumped and, like a reflex, removed himself from my embrace and leaned against the brick wall.

Emi folded her arms across her chest. "Tai, our dinner is ready."

He smiled at her. "Be right there, okay?"

She rolled her eyes and made her way back into the restaurant. Tai was fucking lucky we heard her.

"This was a mistake," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Look, I'll see you later, all right?"

I grabbed his arm. "Are you really gonna walk away from me now?"

"This is confusing me, Yamato ..."

"How do you think _I_ feel?!" I cried. "Tai, you always tell me not to run away from my problems and to face my issue, but look at what _you're_ doing! Honestly, confront your 'issue' before I lose my fucking mind. Do you want me or not?"

Slowly, he sighed. "Emi's waiting."

And he walked inside the restaurant, guilt written on his face and confusion written on mine. Why did he have to play with my head like that? Why did I have to fall for it every fucking time?

Angrily, I entered the restaurant and faked a smile to Akio. "Sorry about that."

He nodded. "Sure."

We began eating in silence. My stomach was turning, but I forced my food down.

"What are you up to tonight?" I asked.

Akio shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"Well, I was thinking," I said, feeling the need to get back at Tai, "maybe after dinner we could head over to my place. Or yours. Your choice."

He looked confused. "What do you think we should do at your or my place?"

"Whatever you wanna do."

He laughed nervously. "All right, Yamato. I think you're a great guy and all, but –"

"But you have to get up early tomorrow?"

"No. This is our first date. I don't want to rush things, you know?"

"Yeah," I replied, feeling embarrassed and bitter. "I know."

--

The date ended pretty quickly. By then I was so upset, I could have cried.

I thought about my options. I could have gone home, but seeing or talking to Tai would have definitely made me feel worse. If Tai hadn't even gone to that fucking restaurant, my date would have ended perfectly fine.

I definitely didn't want to go to Takeru's. Seeing him and Dai be all lovey-dovey would have made my eyes turn green.

So, I decided to wander the downtown streets and think things over.

What gave Tai the right to kiss me like that? Fuck, he screwed _everything_ up ...

I pondered going over to Huro's, but I guessed he was tired of my complaining.

"Yamato!"

I force. The voice was a voice I knew. I turned around to see Riku smiling and looking as great as ever. I felt a grin creep onto my face.

"Hey," I said.

"Why's the face so long?"

I shrugged. "Long story."

"I have time."

I snorted. Like I was going to tell Riku, my ex-boyfriend of three years, problems I was having with my love life.

Riku leaned down closer to me. "What's wrong?"

I felt my excitement rise. There was something about Riku; he had this effect over me. When he talked to me like that, suddenly all I wanted to do was open up to him.

"Tell you what," he said. "Why don't we swing over to my place, mix a few drinks, and talk things over?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, Riku, I ..."

Without a warning, he kissed me. I couldn't help but kiss him back and wrap my arms around him. I was lost. I was lost in thoughts of being with him again. I was lost in thoughts of turning the clock back in time.

I was remembering the good times, but then the bad times came back.

He cheated on me.

I cheated on _him_.

We screamed at each other.

He had hit me before.

We hated each other by the end of it.

Did I really want to go back to him?

I pulled away. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was see Tai. I wanted to talk to him, to have him hold me, to kiss him, to ...

"I'm sorry, Riku," I whispered, walking away from him.

I walked away from the chance to be with a man I loved to offer a chance to the man I love.


	7. The Reunion

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Digimon. I just like using other people's characters for my amusement.

A/N: I know, I know! A update long overdue, but here it is. I don't know how much I like the way this chapter turned out – I guessed it could have been written better, but I like this revised version better than the original chapter I had written.

Before we get started, I would like to thank all of my loyal reviewers who have stuck with me through all these unnecessarily long updates and still stick to this fic today. Thank you sooooo much!

Now, here's chapter seven!

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter Seven: The Reunion_

When I reached my apartment door, I had to put my hands in my pockets to keep them from shaking. I felt like I was gonna throw up or something. Half of my mind was telling me that I was being a fucking idiot for blowing off any chance I had to have Riku again. The other half was overjoyed with seeing Tai.

And then, when I opened that apartment door, an ocean of emotions overflowed me when I saw Tai making out with Emi on the couch.

"What the fuck?" I snapped, slamming the door.

Tai immediately broke the kiss and stood up.

Emi covered her bare chest with her shirt and looked at me. "Hi, Yamato."

I didn't reply. I kept my gaze on Tai.

"Emi," he said, his hand rubbing his face with stress, "I think me and Yamato need to talk. I'll call you in a bit, okay?"

"All right, babe," she replied, giving him a quick kiss before taking off with her shirt wrapped around herself.

I shook my head. "She has no fucking idea, does she?"

"What the hell was I supposed to tell her? It would kill her, Yama."

"So you think it's fair that I have to sit here and watch you two be together? Look, Tai, if you don't even want me, all you have to do is tell me."

He sighed. "Yama, I do ..."

"Then why are you sticking your tongue down her fucking throat?"

"It's not like that ... she's had a hard life, you know?"

I laughed humourlessly. "Oh my god, are you fucking kidding me? Listen, I've had my share of hard times." I walked closer to him, feeling my eyes widen with anger. "Have you ever had your fucking father disown you like you mean absolutely nothing to anyone? Have you ever walked through your hallways in high school and watched everyone glare at you like you're a freak? In my history class, someone actually made a note with everyone's signature telling me not to be in the classroom because I'm gay, and he didn't want me hitting on him. The only person that ever supported me in my life was someone I was so crazy for, I based my whole happiness off him. Then he fucked four people behind my back."

Tai was silent.

I took a deep breath. "But I'm not gonna moan and bitch about it and go psycho just because my boyfriend wants to break up with me."

A few moments later, he asked,

"Did you love him?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Riku. Did you love him?"

I thought about it. All the times he had fucked me over, I took him back without a question. All the times he had bought me pills, I took them with him and spent way too many nights crying, wondering why I couldn't just get over him.

But then I remembered when I'd wake up in his bed, he'd be at work and leave me a joint in the ashtray. I remembered the first time I told Riku what my father had done to me, his face went red with anger and he said,

"Yamato, I will never let anyone hurt you like that again. I promise."

"...yeah," I replied quietly. "I did."

Tai closed his eyes. "Do you still?"

"Why would you care, anyway? I just walked in on you seconds from fucking Emi!"

"Yama, here's one thing you have to understand: I am not in love with Emi."

"Oh, so you just wanna fuck her?"

He groaned. "No! It's not like that. I just ... I just wanna help her."

My stomach dropped. "Do you want me or not, Tai?"

"Of course I do."

"Then why are you doing this?"

He sat on the couch and looked up at me with desperation. "I'm scared, okay?"

"Scared? Of what?"

"_Everything_! You make me feel all these things I've never felt before, and it scares me. I'm not ready to make all these changes."

I picked up the remote control from the coffee table and threw it as hard as I could at the wall. "Fuck you, Tai!"

"Yama!" he shouted, standing up.

"Go to hell, you fucking jerk! Do you have any idea what you've been putting me through?!"

"_Calm the fuck down_!"

Then everything stopped. I held my head and let out a groan. I sat on the chair, shaking, and forced myself to hold back my tears.

"You're all I think about, Tai. When I wake up, I cannot wait till I see you. When I'm at work, the only thing that keeps me going all night is knowing you'll be home when I'm done."

"Hey," he said softly, and when I looked up he kissed me.

I grabbed his face and pulled him towards me, leaning back. I could feel myself getting excited already, feeling him lay over me, my fingers travelling through his hair wildly. I bit his bottom lip, bit his jaw, then bit down his neck. His reactive moans encouraged me to move my hands passed his waistline and work on taking his jeans off.

Then he backed away.

"Tai," I whined, pulling him back to me by his shirt.

"What?"

I kissed him and felt his hand travel up my thigh.

"Do you want me?" I asked in a whisper.

He looked into my eyes, and then he sighed. "I don't know, Yama ..."

"Then stop leading me on."

I wanted more than anything to hear him say that I was crazy, that of course he wanted me, that there was no way I couldn't have him.

Instead, he frowned and said, "I'm sorry."

Disappointment filled my entire body. I made my way to the door and closed my eyes.

"Yama, wait ..."

I just shook my head and left.

--

It began to rain just as I reached the closest bar from the apartment. I had never been there before, but based on my first impression, I thought the place was fucking dirty. The costumers inside dressed and looked a lot different than the costumers at Huro's.

I wasn't asked for an ID, so I made myself at home by taking a seat and ordering rum with Coke.

As my eyes wandered, I noticed a table playing poker, a few men watching a football game, and my old drug dealer, Kato.

I immediately looked the other direction, just to look at something worse.

People always tell me I have really piercing eyes. Looking at them somewhere that wasn't a mirror was so fucked, I had to chew a fingernail to keep from losing my mind. Sure, Takeru looks like me, but he'd always taken after our mother.

Have you ever looked at someone who looks so much like you, it made your stomach turn?

It was the first time I had ever been in the same room as my father in over four years.

He had a beer in his hand and was watching the television. His appearance had changed quite a bit; his hair was longer and more grey, the wrinkles near his eyes were much more distinctive than I had remembered, and stress covered his face.

I watched him throw on his coat on and leave in a daze. I couldn't even believe I had just seen him. I remembered the way he packed my suitcase and said,

"If I ever see you again, you don't know me. Is that clear?"

Suddenly, I found myself making my way to the door, and then on the sidewalk. I saw him walking away from the bar with his back to me. Frustration and hurt filled me.

"Fuck you!" I screamed as loud as I could, throwing my glass at him.

The glass flew by him, missing by a mile, and he stopped. My father turned around and looked me in the eye. Even though we were fifteen feet away from each other, I felt the vibe coming off him.

His eyes weren't filled with anger like I remembered. They didn't express disgust like they used to, nor were they glaring at me like they hated the sight of me. Instead, they were filled with pain.

"I hate you," I told him, my fists in balls and my jaw locking.

My father did nothing but turn around and continue walking. My heart instantly shattered.

He still didn't want me. After four years, he still didn't fucking want me.

I drowsily wandered back into the bar and approached Kato's table slowly.

Kato looked at me for a few seconds before seeming to recognize me. "Yamato Ishida?" He squinted his eyes. "I thought you went away."

"Where would I go?"

"Trip on the wagon."

I laughed. "It was nice while it lasted." I pulled out my wallet. "You got any on you?"

He smiled. "I sure fucking do." He brought out a plastic container from his shoe. "How many you lookin' for?"

I handed him sixty dollars.

"I'll give you ten. For old time's sake."

When he passed me those ten white pills, I could have cried, I was so thrilled. The first thing I did was slip five in my mouth and used a drink of water to wash them down. I figured five would be enough to get me so fucked out of my mind I wouldn't be able to think straight.

"How's Riku doin'?"

I shrugged. "All right I guess."

"You still with him?"

I shook my head.

He nodded. "That's probably a good thing. That kid went pretty overboard last month."

"What? How?"

"Bought pills off my every fucking day, then I stopped hearing from him. I figured he was either on other shit or went away."

"Oh ..." I scratched the back of my neck. "Well, thanks, Kato. I'll see you around."

I felt a stab of guilt, but by the time I was almost home, I was already flying pretty high.

--

My vision was out of focus and my body was completely numb when I found my way to the apartment. I didn't even look to see if Tai was home before sitting on a kitchen chair and watching my fuzzy surroundings.

I fucking missed the feeling of being high.

Somehow Tai appeared in the room, his lips moving but no sound was coming out of his mouth. There was a ringing in my ear that wouldn't go away.

"...to know that—"

"Taichi," I interrupted, unable to hear myself, "you really know how to fuck around with my head, you know that?"

He furrowed his brow. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"You know you want me, Tai," I said, running my hands across his chest.

He back away from me. "Are you drunk, Yama? I don't—"

I whispered in his ear, "Fuck me, Taichi Yagami."

"Yama ..."

My throat felt dry, but I ignored it. "Do it already."

"Wait."

"Fuck—"

"Are you _high_?"

"High?"

He shook his head. "You did ecstasy, didn't you?"

I laughed, maybe a little louder than I intended. "Me? No. I don't get high anymore. I don't even do E. I'm eleven months clean. I don't do E. I don't get high."

"All right, Yama," he said with frustration, guiding me out of the kitchen. "Let's get you to bed."

"Are you gonna fuck me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Do you want some water?"

"You know what I want?" I cried, my voice raising. "I wanna have a life that not's made of shit. I wanna be able to see my dad without wanting to put a bullet through his skull. I wanna think about myself and not feel this ... this ..."

I felt my fingers shake and put them in my mouth. Then I grabbed my hair.

And I screamed. I screamed until my throat killed from being raw. I dropped on the floor surrounded my broken glass, curled into a ball, and uncontrollably felt tears shed from my eyes. I bit my fingers and felt shivers run up and down my spine.

"Takeru," I heard, and when I looked up I saw Tai on the phone. "You're gonna have to come over. Yamato's fucking losing it ..."

--

A/N: I know, I leave yet another cliff-hanger. Haha, sorry, but if I take long to update, feel free to message me to remind me to get workin' on this.

Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed it!

Chapter eight is coming soon.


	8. The Ending

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon.

A/N: And here, to all of my magnificent readers, the final chapter to this story! I really, really hope you'll enjoy it!

Mild Misunderstandings

_Chapter Eight: The Ending_

"Oh, _Yama_ ..."

I attempted to soften my breathing but failed quickly. The only thing I could feel was heat.

A moan escaped from my mouth as I felt him grind against me. I never wanted the moment to stop. I could feel myself harden more and more by the second.

"Can you feel that?" he whispered, grinding his erection against mine.

I moaned again and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Fuck me."

He gazed into my eyes with what I thought was sexual frustration, but then he sat up and turned around.

"I can't."

"What?"

He looked at me and said, "I just can't, okay?

"Why?"

He shook his head, and without another word he was gone.

And no matter how many times I called for him, he didn't come back.

--

My eyes opened and stared at the white wall of the living room.

I wanted to sit up, but my body wouldn't let me. It took me a few minutes to realize I wasn't in my living room – I was in _Takeru's_. It didn't take me long at all, however, to realize I was going through the downfall of doing ecstasy.

I was facing a _huge_ crash.

"How's it going."

The voice was sharp and blunt. I glanced over to the chair and saw Takeru, looking like a fucking zombie. The circle under his eyes were a deep purple, and his hair was a mess. I stared at him a long time before he began talking.

"Yamato ..." He sat up straight. "I just want you to know that I'm really, really pissed at you."

My eyes wandered around the room until I saw the vomit on the carpet. "Oh. Sorry. I'll clean it up."

"What?"

"Just pass me a –"

He then realized what I was talking about and shook his head. "No, you fucking idiot, I'm talking about you doing ecstasy."

A heavy feeling developed in my stomach. "Oh."

"Why the fuck would you do that?"

I closed my eyes and watched the blue shapes dance with the red background. "I-I dunno ..."

"Do you know how happy I was when Sora told me you quit E? I was so worried about you. I thought it wouldn't take long at all for you to start doing even worse shit. Every time I talked to someone who knew you, they would just start going on and on with stories about you being fucked out of your mind and doing something stupid. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? My brother wasn't Yamato anymore. He was an idiot I didn't even know."

I couldn't say anything. I didn't even know Takeru was aware of my drug habit.

"I finally had my brother back, but then you when and fucked it all up the other night. Why?"

I was silent for a few minutes before asking,

"What did Dad say when ... you told him you're gay?"

He looked at the floor. "I never told him."

"Why not?"

He smirked. "I didn't want to."

"Why?"

"I don't wanna tell you."

"Tell me."

He sighed. "Well ... when you were moved into Mom's, I was helping him unload the truck. He just didn't talk the entire time. When we were done, I said, 'Well, I guess I won't be seeing you much anymore.' So he just smirked and said ... 'I just hope you don't turn into a fuck-up like your brother.'"

My chest was holding so much weight, I couldn't breath.

Takeru frowned. "I'm sorry."

I felt my eyes water and closed them immediately. The lump in my throat wasn't going away, and I felt anger towards myself.

_Fuck, Yamato, do not let him see you cry_.

Thankfully, I managed to blink it off.

"Yamato, I ... fuck, I shouldn't have told you that."

"Don't worry about it."

"But I do!" he cried, standing up. "Dad could have been just as much of an asshole to me, but instead I'm a fucking pussy and didn't even tell him. I was terrified of not being accepted, you know?"

I shrugged. "Good thing you didn't. I wish I never told him."

"Fuck you," my brother spat. "Don't say that. If you didn't tell him, you would have been lying to yourself. He's your father – he deserves to know the real you, and if he wants to be a dick about it, he can go fuck himself. It's his loss if he doesn't want a relationship with you. You're a good person, Yamato. Promise me you'll remember that, okay?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Sounds good."

Before I left, he put his hand on my shoulder with affection. Takeru and I come from a family where we don't show affection, say "I love you" or show emotion. Seeing my brother react based on his own instincts and not our fucked parents' gave me hope.

For the first time in a long time, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

--

The next time I woke up, I was drenched in cold sweat.

I couldn't remember what I could have possibly been dreaming about, but I rubbed my shoulders and leaned my head back.

I craved a shower more than anything. I had no idea how much time passed since I was at the bar, but I didn't seem to care. The only things that were really on my mind were Takeru, my mom, and, of course, Taichi Yagami.

I couldn't understand it. I was absolutely crazy about Tai. The thought of him kissing Emi in front of me made me sick to my stomach. Was he in love with her? Why couldn't he just leave her already? Was it really that difficult? Did he have _any_ feelings for me?

I sighed and closed my eyes, yearning for more sleep.

At that moment, I heard a hallway door open.

Expecting to see Takeru when I looked up, I was pretty surprised to see Tai come into the room and sit on the chair.

"Oh – you're awake."

I nodded. "Looks like it."

He gave me a heavy smile. He looked just as worn out as Takeru had.

"When did you get here?" I asked.

He yawned and shrugged. "A while ago. How are you feeling?"

I snorted. "Why would you care?"

"What?"

I was staring at the ceiling, but somehow I knew he was looking at me.

"Yama, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

When he didn't reply, I continued. "I was about to say something really stupid to you, and I walk in to see you sticking your tongue down Emi's throat. I'm just fucking glad I didn't end up saying it."

"Saying that you love me?"

I looked at him. "What? How ..."

He placed his chin on his palm and replied, "You told me in the emergency room."

"I – I was in the emergency room?"

"You don't remember?"

I sighed. "I guess not."

He rubbed his eyes. "Well, that doesn't surprise me. But, anyway, you were just saying that you threw away Riku for me, and that I completely fucked it over."

"Oh."

"Yamato, would it make any difference if I told you that I'm sorry?"

"No."

"Yama ... I'm trying. At least give me that, would you?"

"What are you doing to try? You're not trying anything. You're keeping yourself from trying."

"I _am_ trying."

"Tai, why won't you just admit that you don't want anything to do with me?"

He laughed. "What?!"

"You don't have to lie to me anymore. Just tell the fucking truth for once. _You don't want me_. Admit it, and I'll forgive you."

Tai stood up and sat on the end of the couch. "You think I don't love you."

"Nope."

He shook his head. "If I didn't want anything to do with you, do you think I would have stayed in that emergency room once you started hysterically crying, or when you threw up on my legs, or when you passed out four times? And do you think I would have drove you there while you were screaming the whole way? And do you think I would have stayed with you for three days straight when I couldn't sleep or eat? And do you think I would have spent the past two days sitting on that chair for you?"

I was speechless. Tai did all of that ... for me?

"Yama, I care about you," he snapped. "More than you'll ever know." He bent down to kiss my forehead. "Believe me now?"

"I guess," I replied, smiling sheepishly.

He laughed and leaned down closer to me. "You guess?"

And then he kissed me.

Sure, it wasn't our first kiss, but it didn't make me any less happy about it. It was our first kiss that didn't feel like our last one.

"What about Emi?" I asked with our lips pressed against each other.

He kissed me more passionately, and I was perfectly fine with that answer.

I never wanted him to leave. Having him with me made me feel fearless, like I could do anything I wanted. Fuck, I needed him. I was such a mess, laying on my brother's couch, crashed from ecstasy, spending the past few days crying and puking.

And there was Tai.

He was so perfect, so put together. I needed him so much ...

When he pulled away, he smiled.

"Move over."

So I did.

And we spent the whole day like that, laying on my brother's couch, his arm warmly wrapped over me.

And you know ...

It was something I could get used to.

--

"Oh, a banana split!" Mimi cried, grinning from ear to ear. "I didn't even think about that."

We were at Sora's making ice cream sundaes. It was a pretty relaxing week overall; I had started taking painting lessons and actually got back into playing guitar. Takeru convinced me to start therapy lessons, and while I wasn't excited at all for them, over time they became quite helpful.

"So," Sora said, scooping chocolate ice cream into her dish, "how's Taichi?"

I smiled. "Good."

"I _knew_ you liked him," Mimi claimed. "Do you remember? And the very first time I met him, I knew he would turn out to be gay."

"Yeah, me too," I added sarcastically.

I then heard a loud buzzing from my pocket and flipped open my cell phone.

Riku was calling me.

I walked into the bathroom, and without feeling nervous, anxious, or terrified, I answered Riku's phone call with confidence.

"Hey, Matt."

"How are you?"

"Great, great. I ran into Daisuke yesterday and he told me ... what happened. I've just been kind of worried about you ever since, so I though I'd just check up on you."

Now, that had to be the sweetest thing Riku had ever done for me. It wasn't a flirtatious or a "Let's Get Back Together" thing – it was Riku. Maybe I was in love with him years before, and maybe he had broken my heart a few times, but I still deeply cared about him, just like he still did for me.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

"Great. That's really great to hear, Matt. You know, we should get together sometime."

"Oh, I don't know, Riku. I'm kinda seeing someone right now."

He laughed. "Taichi, right? Your roommate?"

"Yeah. How ..."

"Dai told me. Relax – I'm seeing someone, too. I was thinking maybe the four of us could hang out or something."

"Yeah, sure," I replied with interest.

Honestly, that would have been a terrible idea, but the thought of Riku offering it made me feel a lot better. I liked mending things with him and, for once in my life, everything felt right.

I had a terrific boyfriend.

I had two amazing best friends.

I had a brother and an almost brother-in-law that could always lend me their couch.

I had a mother who had been calling me everyday worried sick since I'd gotten back from the hospital.

And suddenly, my father didn't matter to me. If he wanted to be a dick, he could go fuck himself.

I returned to the living room to re-join Sora and Mimi, gazing at my old bedroom that was turning into a guest bedroom.

For once ...

I absolutely love my life.

_**Fin.**_

--

A/N: Yes, this is the ending. However, a sequel isn't completely out of the question. Thoughts?

I just want to say a big **THANK YOU! **to all of my grand readers who have followed this story within the past year and stuck with me, no matter how long my updates dragged on for. I really hoped you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

In case any of you were wondering, I have many more Taito stories planned for the future, as well as a SoraxMimi story (My Lonely Symphony) I'm currently updating, and a TakeruxDaisuke story I plan on posting soon.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all take care! =)

Comments, critical thoughts, and all kind of reviews are welcome.


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